BOC and Stobart to expand use of low-carbon HGVs

UK supplier of compressed and liquefied gases, BOC, and logistics specialists, Stobart Group are taking part in a £23m programme to encourage road haulage operators in the UK to buy and use low-carbon commercial vehicles.

BOC will provide refuelling facilities for the Eddie Stobart fleet of dual-fuel vehicles at one of Stobart Group's regional hubs, with scope for other operators to use these facilities.

The project, part of the programme coordinated by the Government's Technology Strategy Board (TSB), will track the usage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which typically accounts for up to 65-70% of total fuel consumption for a dual-fuel vehicle, as well as the reduction in CO2 emissions. It will also provide an opportunity to assess BOC's refuelling technology.

BOC has developed technology, using cryogenic cooling to 'temperature-condition' the fuel prior to dispensing. This ensures that no fuel is lost to evaporation and venting during the refuelling process.

The company said: "The systematic evaluation of the vehicles and the refuelling technologies in the field, as an integrated part of a large vehicle fleet, will help identify potential further refinements of the technology and provide opportunities to improve sustainability in the logistics sector".

Director of bulk and packaged gases at BOC, Nathan Palmer, added: "Minimising fuel losses when refuelling will make a major improvement to the already strong environmental credentials of LNG as a transport fuel.

"This project will allow us and the Stobart Group to quantify just what is possible with this technology."